One of the hardest experiences that any parent has to eventually deal with is the realization that their son or daughter is going to move out of the house and pursue their own goals in life on their own. Although this is something that every parent wants for their children, it’s difficult for parents to let go. It can also be very difficult for them to deal with it when they realize that they have that empty room in the house where their child used to spend a lot of their time.

The emotions tend to set in particularly well during the period of time that children reach adulthood and go off to college for a whole. The room in the house becomes almost abandoned, even though it’s really not; most college students leave a lot of their belongings and other items in their room while they’re spending time at their dorm in college. They want to leave those special and more personal items at home where they grew up with their family. While that’s a great idea, it’s also more difficult for parents in the long run.

Some parents feel conflicted about what they should do with the space after their child has left home. There are a few parents that work hard to try to transform that space back into another room or an area where they won’t always think of it as their child’s room, but it can be difficult. It can also be expensive to invest so much money into transforming the room itself for no particular reason. If the parent lacks a vision for the room, then it’s going to be hard to define it for a remodeling project.

A lot of parents opt for an option where they never really change the child’s room at all. In fact, they barely even touch it. They tell their children that they will always have a room there at their household in case they want to come home or even if they have to live there again for some reason in the future. It makes them feel better to know that they are being supportive of their children in this way and also reminds their children that they will always have a place to call home, even if they are out on their own.

In the long run, remodeling a home when empty nest syndrome has occurred can be a very trying experience. As long as parents are willing to keep an open mind about everything, they shouldn’t have too much of a problem with moving on.The goal is not to remodel the room or home to pretend as if their child never was there; sometimes, the simple fact is that a little remodeling can help to distract them from the concerns about letting their child experience the world on their own for a while.

Amy Wright

Amy Wright is the Lead Editor of Remodeling Central. When she isn't playing with her dogs she is trying to remodel a classic Chicago style brownstone with her husband.